Wanted no more

Deep inside a forest, an old woman finds a lost dog. She takes on an adventurous trek to help the dog get back to his master. When they arrive, the old woman is imprisoned by the police as they find out her true identity. Uncover the mysterious truth behind the old woman’s conviction. This is Wanted No More.

Left Behind

A young man and his dog camped in the forest. The dog was a retired K9 soldier. They were best of friends and always together. They enjoyed being outdoor. While on a trek the young man slips and falls down a rocky hill. He manages to call the emergency services before losing consciousness. His legs were heavily bruised and bleeding. The dog was standing by him, alone and helpless.

A few hours later, the dog sensed some movement in the woods. He saw a human on the other side of a hill. He barked in distress but, the human on the other side did not respond. The dog sprints across the forest through the valley to get to the human on the other side. He finds an old woman, living by herself deep inside the forest.

The dog was continuously barking in distress, wagging his tale, wanting the old woman to follow. He did a good job at communicating with his gestures. The old woman realized there was an emergency. She agrees to follow the dog.

She was slow and struggled to get across the valley. She had not seen a dog like that in years. The dog was well trained and waited for her every step of the way.

Halfway through their journey, they hear a Helicopter. The emergency services had found the injured unconscious man and air lifted him to the near by hospital. The dog sprinted towards the helicopter but, he was too late. He was left behind.

The dog was whining and barking at the sky. He wanted to get back to his master. The old woman tried to comfort the dog. She couldn’t speak to him. She was a dumb.

They trekked through the valley again, back to the old woman’s house. The dog had no where else to go and stayed with her. She put up a campfire and roasted some meat for the dog. The dog couldn’t eat as He had lost his appetite. She comforted the dog as they snuggled to sleep together in her bed.

No more hiding

The Next morning, the dog had wondered off into the forest. He traced back their trek route with scent and found the camp site where he and his master had stayed the night before. He stood there and barked continuously.

The old woman heard the dog barking in distress again. She followed the dog’s voice and reached the camp site. She found the man’s left-over belongings. Among them was the man’s purse with a court identity card. The man was a lawyer. The old woman was surprised. She was also a lawyer too back in the day.

The nearby town was a 20 kms trek through the woods. In the old woman’s pace, it a whole day’s trek. She felt pity for the dog and decided to help. They packed what they wanted from the camp site and started walking towards the town. 

The dog managed to chase and hunt down a rabbit. He was a well-trained hunter. The old woman was a good archer too. She had shot down a few birds with her sling shot. 

It was dark and they settle down for the night. The dog was hungry and whining. The old woman cooked the meat on fire and fed the dog. She was falling in love with the dog. She enjoyed his company. 

The old woman has been living in the wild, away from all human contact for over 10 years. She didn’t want the urban life. She only wanted to help the dog get back to his master. A lot would have changed since she left the urban life. She was going to see tomorrow, how the new world will treat her.

Chaos

They reached the town, the next morning. The woman knew where to find the man. There was only one hospital in the town.

As they arrived, the dog found his master's scent and rushed into the hospital. It was chaos as the dog ran through the narrow corridors of the hospital. People scrambled everywhere in shock. The security ran behind the dog, trying to chase him away.

He found his master, resting on the bed, semi-conscious, hooked to a ventilator.  The dog jumped over the bed with his dirty paws and turned the bed all muddy. The security arrived and started beating the dog with their batons. The dog was screaming in pain.

The old woman came to the rescue and escorted the dog out of the hospital. She calmed the dog down, While the security questioned and accused her for the chaos. The police and animal rescue arrived. They took them both into custody.

The old woman couldn’t talk or respond to the questioning. She tried to explain to the police that she was dumb. She wrote her response on a paper. “My name is Mary Edward. I am a 60-year-old woman Wanted for Murder” she wrote. The police were in shock. They have been looking for her for over 10 years. She was wanted for the Murder of a local drug lord Emanuel Read.

Flash back

Back in the day, Mary Edward was a well-known Lawyer. She used her skills to help defend cases for influential people, criminals and drug lords. The victims and the oppositions hated her as she would find creative ways to win her argument knowing the sins caused by the very people she defended.

Her last case was of a local drug lord, Emanuel Read. She couldn’t defend him. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for all his illegal activities. He managed to escaped from the police the same day and went into hiding.

He was hiding in Mary apartment in a secret underground room built for purpose. It was filled with food, drugs and everything else that is required for survival. The man felt invisible after he found out the police couldn’t find him when they checked.

A few days later, Mary and Emanuel argued over settlements and relocation from the secret room. The argument turned physical as the man punched Mary’s face multiple times. One of his punches landed on Mary’s Neck. She lost her voice instantly. She found a sharp object and used it to defend herself. She accidentally clipped Emanuel’s neck and ended up killing him.

Mary was an accomplice and held drugs in her possession. There was no way she could fight her case on the grounds of self-defence. She had even lost her voice. Fearing the consequences, She escaped into the woods never to return.

The Trial

Back to the present day. The man in the hospital has recovered. He was made aware of the current situation. He went to the animal shelter to get his dog back. 

He visited Mary in the prison. He mentioned the he knew her very well. A lot of her cases from the past were included as case studies for new students. He agreed to defend the case for her.

On the day of her Trial. She was in court again after all those years but, only this time She was a fugitive.

The police had not recovered the murder weapon. There was no proof for Mary’s involvement in murder except the fact that she disappeared after the event. He justified her disappearance against conspiracy to Murder.

He proved Mary was held as a hostage in her own apartment during that time. She was a victim of physical abuse due to which she lost her voice. He convinced the court that, Emanuel had taken over her house for refuge and Mary had escaped from abuse while he was still alive. Emanuel continued to run his operation from Mary’s house and had constant visitors. The Murderer could have been anyone and the case will forever remain a mystery.

Due to lack of conclusive evidence against Mary, she was released. Mary Edward was no more on the police most wanted list. She hugged the dog and cried uncontrollably. If it wasn’t for him, Mary would have gone to her grave as a Murderer.

She wrote a note on paper, thanking the Lawyer for help. She invited him and his beloved dog to her house in the woods. They trekked back to the woods together and spent the night in Mary’s house.

The End.